Chicken-brooder.



J. C. WEBB.

CHICKEN BROODER.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT.2. 1914.

1 ,146,603, Patented July 13, 1915.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

J. C. WEBB. CHICKEN BROODER.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT-2.19M-

Patented July 13, 1915.

JOE C. WEBB, 0F PONDCREEK, OKLAHOMA.

CI-IICKEN-BROODER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 13, 1915.

Application filed September 2, 1914. Serial No. 859,863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OE C. WEBB, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pondcreek, in the county of Grant, State of Oklahoma, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Chicken-Brooders; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to chicken breeding apparatus, particularly tobrooders for baby chicks, and has for its object the provision of anovel brooder provided with heating means whereby heat will be appliedto the bottom of the brooder so that the feet of the chickens will bewarmed quickly thus, as is a well known fact, warming the chickens to acomfortable degree in a very limited time.

An important object is the provision of a brooder having a hoversuspended therewithin and spaced from the walls thereof, therebyavoiding crowding of the chickens against a wall with the consequence ofsmothering.

Another object is the provision of a brooder formed in compartments toprovide a roosting chamber and an exercise room, the partitioning meansbeing removable to facilitate cleaning the device.

Other objects and advantages such as simplicity and cheapness,efficiency and durability in service and the general improvement of theart will be brought out more fully in the following description andillustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation of my novel brooder, the ground beneath it being in section.Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view therethrough. Fig. 3 isa top plan view thereof with the cover removed. Fig. 4 is an end view.Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view, and Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral 10 designatesthe main or body portion of my brooder as a whole, which comprises frontand back walls 11 and 12, end walls 13 and 14, a bottom 15 and a cover16 hingedly secured as at 17 upon the back wall 12. The rectangularinclosure formed by these walls is divided into two compartments 18 and19 by means of a partition 20 held between pairs of cleats 21 secureduponthe front and back walls 11 and 12. It will be noted that thepartition 20 may be removed for facilitating the cleaning of the device.The compartment 19 is adapted to be used as an exercising room in whichthe chickens may be fed and in which they may walk around to secure theproper exercise. Light is admitted to the exercising compartment throughsuitable windows 22 disposed in the front wall 11. In order to allow thechickens to pass into and out of the brooder, I provide an opening inthe front wall 11 closable by a hinged door 23. Access may be hadbetween the compartments 18 and 19 through an opening 24 formed in thepartition 20. The end wall 14 of the brooder compartment is providedwith an opening closed by a glazed door 241 to allow access from theexterior of the brooder to the compartment 18.

A hover 25 is disposed within the comaartment 18 and is formedpreferably of a frame 26 supported upon cleats 27 and covered with asheet of material 28 having a plurality of cloth strips 29 dependingtherefrom.

In order that heat may be applied to the brooder, I provide the floor 15with a cutout portion 30 which is covered upon the top and bottom sidesof the floor with sheets 31 and 32 of asbestos. When these plates areheated, heat will be supplied to the compartment 18 and at the same timedanger of overheating will be prevented by virtue of the air space 32between the plates or sheets 31 and 32. The contact of the chickens feetwith the top sheet 31 will insure that they will be warmed while at thesame time they cannot be burned as the upper sheet does not come indirect contact with the heating means.

In order to heat the plates 30 and 31, I provide a box 33 provided uponits upper side edges with flanges 34 slidable on tracks 35 secured uponthe lower side of the plate 31. This box is adapted to contain anyordinary or preferred type of lamp which will heat the plates 30 and 31.

In use, a hole is first dug in the ground of a sufficient size and depthto more than accommodate the box 33. My brooder is then placed upon theground with the box disposed within this hole 36, as shown in Figs. 1and 6. The front portion of the hole is covered by a plate 37 hingedupon the front wall 11 which excludes wind and consequently prevents theblowing outof the light in the lamp. When it is deslred to extinguishthe lamp or remove it from the box for refilling or any other purposethe plate 37 is swung upwardly, whereupon the operator may reach intothe hole 36 and grasping a handle 38 on the front of the box 33, pullthe box forwardly upon the track 35. It is to be observed that thetracks extend forwardly of the front wall 11 so that the box will stillbe supported thereby when it has been moved sufficiently far forwardlyto permit of the removal of the lamp.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawing it will beapparent that I have thus provided a simple and sanitary broodercomprising separate compartments for feeding and roosting, which may beeasily cleaned and which will effectively keep the chickens comfortablywarm.

My brooder is constructed upon a logical plan in view of the fact thatit provides for the warming of the chickens feet which are the part of achicken the least protected and the quickest to get cold. It will thusbe observed that I have provided a brood'er which Will fulfil all thefunctions that could be required of it.

It will. be readily understood that I reserve the right to make variouschanges in the form and construction of parts without departing from thespirit of the invention or limiting the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A brooder comprising a casing, the floor of the casing being providedwith an opening, a hover disposed over said opening, sheets of asbestossecured on the floor above and below said opening,'and means forapplying heat to the lowermost sheet, said means comprising a lamp.

2. A lnooder comprising a casing provided with an opening in its bottom,sheets of heat resisting material covering said opening and spacedapart, trackways secured upon the lower side of said bottom, a boxprovided at its upper edges with flanges slidable upon said trackways,and a lamp disposed within said box below said sheets of heat resistingmaterial. I

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in the presence of twowitnesses.

JOE C. WEBB.

Witnesses:

N. B. POTTER, H. M. MCCARTER.

copies of this patient may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Gomnrissi'oner of Patents,

Washington, D. G.

